Lake, Mountains, Camping & Other Reasons Why Maharashtra's Dhom Dam Should Be Next On Your List

During our final days of Post-Graduation, vacation plans were aplenty. From Goa to Gokarna, every WhatsApp group was abuzz with excitement for the “final trip”. Cut to a week later when only three women remained standing. After much consideration and eventual exasperation, my friends and I decided to take a weekend trip to Dhom Dam. Little did we know that those two days would change our lives forever… or at least for a month.

Approximately 265 kms away from Mumbai in Wai district, on the Krishna river stands Dhom Dam. We took a bus from Mumbai to Wai (and cracked Wai-Wai jokes all the way) which took us about 8 hours and INR 700 per person. From the Wai bus stop we went for a half-an-hour auto ride to Dhom Dam.

I would recommend making it a road trip, if you can. The drive is lovely and it would save you from some rather sketchy public transport. Also, it would help to have your own mode of transport when you finally reach Dhom Lake in mid-May and realise no camps are being set up. At least that’s how we started our weekend getaway at the absolutely deserted Dhom lake, that fine sunny day. Luckily, the view was worth it.

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Pro-tip: Best time to visit Dhom Dam is between September - April. Make sure you make reservations beforehand if you plan on camping the night near the lake.

We eventually got in touch with the guys at Sahyadri Boat Club who opened their gates for us and promised to set up the tents in the evening. Until then, we had their two dogs, wood log seats and banana hammocks all to ourselves.

Looking down at Dhom Lake’s clean water, surrounded by mountains, I was instantly taken back to Leh’s Pangong Lake albeit in a completely different geographical setup.

There are places other than the lake to explore in and around Dhom. However, you will need your own vehicle to drive around for that. There is the famous Shree Narsimha temple and Krishna Ghat. Dhom is also known for movie shootings. That’s right! Movies like Omkara, Gangaajal, Swades, Ishqiya and many more have been shot at the picturesque Dhom.

When the sun began to set, we were taken on a boat ride by the friendly lot at Sahyadri. They also gave us the option to swim around or go kayaking (which we declined because the kayak looked very flimsy).

The best part, however, was post sunset. Back at the camp, another set of visitors had started to play live music. Looking down at the mountains surrounding the lake and the serenity of it all, for a moment, our life had its own soundtrack.

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We woke up the next morning in our tent, sweating like pigs. It took thirty minutes of our feets dipped in the lake to get the temperature back to normal again. Even though we chose the worst weather to camp at Dhom, I have to give it to the warmth and calm of the place. Something we probably wouldn’t have found at a crowded beach in Goa. In the evening, we caught our bus back to the city. The tranquility of Dhom, however, has stayed with me till date. If you’re looking for a weekend getaway of comfort where you can actually collect the chaos of your mind and stabilise it, then Dhom is the way to go.